Blog

I would like to share with you a story about a wife being honest about her struggle with her husband of over 30 years. She would become broken before the Lord and transparent and open before other people. I had the privilege of ministering to her and her husband during a Life Action Revival Summit in NE Ohio in May 2012. Early in the week, God broke in and the wife wrote the following prayer in response to how God dealt with her during one of our services: Read More

A few years ago I was standing on the fairway of hole 15 at The Lakes at Laura Walker in Waycross, GA when I could hear the roar and feel the heat. No, I wasn’t in a hot golf match, I was on the edge of a fire that was burning in the Okefenokee Swamp, just a few short miles away. Yes, I could hear the roar. And yes, I could feel the heat. It was coming from the fire in the swamp that had spread across US Highway 1 and was headed in our direction. As I was standing there I was amazed at the power and pace at which fire can produce. The fire that year (2007) burned more than 600,000 acres (935 square miles-an area greater than the State of Rhode Island) of the Okefenokee region from April to July 2007. Essentially all of the swamp burned, though the degrees of impact vary widely. Smoke from the fires was reported as far away as Atlanta and Orlando. Read More

Psalm 127:1, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

The America I grew up in as a child is different than the America I now parent in as a dad. Politically we are different. Spiritually we are different. Morally we are different. Economically we are different. Patriotically we are different. Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect the America I grew up in to be the same after thirty years. I knew it would change, but I certainly did not expect it to change for the worse. Nor did I expect America to change as rapidly as it has over the last decade. The truth is, there had been decades of demise and decay in all of the categories I mentioned, as a result our security as a nation has weakened, externally and internally.

Recently Laine Johnson, one of the revivalists for Life Action Ministries, made a statement during a panel discussion on revival in New Orleans, LA at the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2012. Although I do not have the entire quote, Laine essentially said, “I do not believe the greatest threat in our country today is political. I do not think that our greatest threat is economical. I do not believe that the greatest threat is moral. I do not believe that the greatest threat is another terrorist attack. I believe the greatest threat to America today is God Himself.“

For our nation, ‘Homeland Security’ is an umbrella term used for security efforts to protect the United States against perceived internal and external threats. The term arose following a reorganization of many U.S. government agencies in 2003 to form the United States Department of Homeland Security after the September 11 attacks.

‘Homeland Security’ is officially defined by the National Strategy for Homeland Security as “a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.” Because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it also has responsibility for preparedness, response, and recovery to natural disasters.

Other than what is mentioned in the reference above, I believe that there is much more than what is outlined and defined for any nation’s homeland to be secure. As a matter of fact, Psalm 127:1 is very succinct and clear as to our efforts compared to the Lord and His effort when it comes to Homeland Security. I personally believe there is much more involved in regard to protecting our nation’s homeland… and that is your and my home.

Our homes will be secure by the…

The Power of Christ. Primarily the power of Christ at work in a God-honoring marriage. For the husband, he is to love. For the wife, she is to submit. Both of these spouses have the Lord and His power at their disposal in living out these Biblical roles that are necessary for any home and society to be secure. Marriage is nothing of a civil union, it is a divine institution. God is the One that joins together and only He can make two become one, and that is powerful. The Lord is the only One who has the power to guard and guide the home. He is the only One who can protect and purify the home. And yes, He is the only One who can stabilize and secure the home. We have the power of Christ at our disposal.

Satan does not fear a religion that merely stencils words on a stone or preaches them in a sermon. What he dreads is when the Word becomes flesh and blood in the tangible context of a God-honoring marriage and family. We Americans, and Christians in particular, have become experts at having a form of godliness and denying the power thereof. May the power in our homes become His power beginning today.

Our homes will be secure by the…

The Purity of the Church. In 1911 Theodore Roosevelt made the following statement to the Boy Scouts of America, “A churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid downgrade.” I believe one of the major reasons why America has shifted toward a more secular, pluralistic, relative society is because the church has allowed this course. Over time we have chosen our way over God’s way and as a result He has given the church over to itself as He sits in judgment. The purity of the church is essential to any nation turning back to God.

For the church to be pure, there must be the people that are continually being empowered by the Spirit and enlightened by the Scriptures. Far too often church worship services are lacking the Spirit and the Scriptures and as a result there are fewer people being evangelized by the Savior. America is increasingly becoming a nation to whom God is calling missionaries.

According to George Barna of the Barna Research Group: “With its 195 million unchurched people, America has become the new mission field. America has more unchurched people than the entire populations of all but 11 of the world’s 194 nations.”

And still, according to Lost in America, by Tom Clegg and Warren Bird, 2001 (over ten years ago): “The unchurched population in the United States is so extensive that, were it a nation, it would be the fifth-largest on the planet. . . . Researchers and analysts describe North America as the world’s third-largest mission field.”

If we are interested in improving our Homeland Security we must seek God in prayer, perhaps praying like we have never prayer before. D.L. Moody once said, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” May the kneeling figure appear more often in our homes as families bow before God, asking Him to have mercy upon our land.

Lastly, our homes will be secure by the…

The Pursuit of Charity. In our homes, more than ever, we must follow after love. We must make love our quest. For extended periods of time charity must be our chief aim as husbands and wives, as moms and dads, and even as brothers and sisters. Charity must permeate all that we think, say, and do. By all means, may those that live in our homes all across America begin pursuing charity unapologetically and unconditionally for others and not ourselves.

Dr. David Platt made the following statement in his book entitled, RADICAL: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, “With the best of intentions, we have actually turned away from Jesus. We have in many areas blindly and unknowingly embraced values and ideas that are common in our culture but are antithetical to the gospel He taught. Here we stand amid an American dream dominated by self-advancement, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency, by individualism, materialism, and universalism.”

Think about charity for just a moment as it relates to Christ loving us and giving himself up for us. His love is unconditional. His love is also unbelievable in that He extends forgiveness… and we all need that kind of love. So, on this July 4th let’s turn to the One who is the only one that can secure any home. And as we turn to Him… let’s ask Him for the power of Christ to live and to love with His grace actively engaged in each of the lives in our homes. Let’s ask Him for the purity of the church so that we as believers can lean and learn as we should. And let’s ask Him for the pursuit of charity so that others can by His grace through faith come to know His unconditional love and unbelievable forgiveness.

About Keith Boggs | Follow him on Twitter @KeithABoggs. Connect with him on LinkedIn.Director. Revivalist. Conference Speaker. Prayer Summit Leader. Men’s Ministry Coach. Teacher. Author. Blogger.
He is the founder of REAL MOMENTUM Ministries, Inc., and is passionate about seeing a movement of men unleashed and unhindered for the glory of God at home, in the church, and around the world. Keith also serves as a staff revivalist with Life Action Ministries. He and his wife, Nichole, live in Georgia. They have been married for 15 years and have 8 children. They make a great team leading family conferences and retreats together.Contact him today about the possibility of having him come and speak. Learn more about what others have to say.

Let It Begin In Me. That’s where it starts. Not so much praying for others; it is getting on my face and praying, “Let it start with me!” How quick am I to say, “If he would just change, or if she would just change?” I am drawing a circle, stepping in it and praying – “Lord, change me!” Revival has a ripple effect: it impacts ever-widening circles of family, community, and country. But at the core, it all begins in the circle where you and I stand. As the songwriter penned, “Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” Read More